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The Underground City
The Arrivals “You know, I never figure out how those marines always seem to know what direction we’re moving in," Legs complained, looking over the edges of the ship as it descended inwards into the depths of the red line. For centuries, no other had been capable of carving a hole straight through this continent, allowing the World Government to be directly responsible for trade and commerce between paradise and the New World. Ultimately, it had truly limited the Yonko’s power, and had somehow managed to confine them to a singular half of the Grand Line. At least economically. Thus, when Kogane managed to create her own passage, Legs felt some sort of debt towards her. Though, that feeling went away pretty quickly when she found that all of her ships were being charged some fee to travel between the New World and Paradise. When Legs really thought about it, it actually didn’t make sense not to think there would be some sort of fee. Still, didn’t mean she liked it. Blaise's fingers drummed against the holsters on her hips as she stood, leaning against the starboard side of the upper deck, keeping a careful eye on the idiot steering. The journey had been a hell of an adventure, she could vividly remember the rain turning to steam before it touched her as she drove them right into the eye of a hurricane, wildly laughing as waves threatened to tip them. It was only then she had touched the ship's wheel— when the tension was high and everything was on the line. The thrill of a chase was the only part of steering she enjoyed. Else, she felt like a sitting duck, and Blaise was never still for very long. She craned her head back, looking up as she thought about the marines and Legs' comment. "You figure they might have a tracker as good as me?" She suggested. "I would hope not for the sake of your job," Legs jested. "Even if they do, I doubt they have your navigating skills or your particularly useful devil fruit abilities either." Her tone was slightly more serious, hoping to quench any worries that Blaise may have had about such an occurrence. Blaise was one of the most skilled trackers in the entire world, greater than Legs herself. Not many could boast such a trait, especially the marines. Elsewise, they would have tracked them down even now. They steadily approached the upcoming city, formed entirely from metals and unique earths. The entire town was of Kogane’s own creation, which is why Legs always ensured to remain on her best behavior when inside. She, being the logia user she was, could even challenge a Yonko in her own territory. Legs turned to face Blaise, who had been navigating the cruel waters since they acquired the marine battleship some days ago. It was she who so dangerously launched them into the middle of a hurricane, and somehow led them safely through it and out again. Regardless, her methods of escaping the marines, while dangerous, were successful. Thus, Legs had no complaints. “Blaise, we’re coming onto the city. I think Kogane is going to be down there waiting for us. Or, that’s what we said over the den den mushi,” Legs informed. “Try not to get too smart with her during our time here. She can control the entire place after all.” The Navigator's smile broke out into a winning grin, "No promises there." A shadow cast over the ship as they grew closer to the oncoming Red Line and the cavernous entrance into Kogane's island. Blaise watched in awe and her muscles twitched in excitement. She couldn't wait to get off and take a look around. Kogane Read, builder and owner of Gotthard Tunnel and the island of steel that resided in its center, was sitting on a pier in one of the many harbors the lay across her city. She had a special meeting today with one of the Yonko, and not even she was one to willingly pick a fight with one, even though she was among the few who didn't fear them in the slightest. The small noble for the lack of a better word was just sitting there on the edge of the pier, legs kicking in the air above the water. "I wonder when they are going to show up," she said in a small voice. She knew roughly when they were supposed to be there. That didn't stop her from being bored. She even took the effort to wear something besides her pajamas today. Most people didn't care, she just did her thing and she let them do theirs. There was a ship approaching now, though not one she expected. "Why would a Yonko be in a Marine battleship, maybe she likes roleplaying or something..." Either way, the ship was bigger than she expected. It was bigger than the space she had prepared, but with a tap of her hand she changed that. Kogane had consumed the Kane-Kane no Mi as a child, which had turned her into a metal woman. This island was her domain for good reason, as she had generated the metal for all of it, allowing her to manipulate the structure as she pleased. Several of the piers in this harbor shrunk into the square behind them, and the ships they serviced were picked up by columns of steel and moved aside before being gently placed back into the water a berth over. The harbormaster for this harbor would see this and understand, because very few ever questioned why she did things and not to mention, there was currently a large ship heading right towards him. "Well I guess it's time to go meet the leggy person." The shipped docked shortly after, having been assisted by the metal piers and "escalated" into place gently. Legs stepped off the boat impressed alongside her trust navigator who wore a bright smile and a face of awe as she stared off into the city. The Yonko turned to look for her contact, establishing eye contact with a woman rather tiny. If Legs had to guess, she was somewhere around her knee. Regardless, this was a woman whose power and might held as much influence as her own, if not even more. She controlled both the New World and Paradise with her innovation. Legs only held a grasp over the New World. "Kogane!" Legs greeted enthusiastically, her tone similar to two best friends reuniting after spending time apart. "I'm so happy to finally meet you!" she continued, approaching the must shorter woman with ease. "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, and I'm thrilled that we aren't communicating through our subordinates like we usually do." "Speaking of subordinates," Legs started, her eyes wandering for her missing navigator who had so carelessly begun to wander off, gawking at the cavernous city in awe. Quickly, she scooped Blaise of the ground, and repositioned her next to herself and in front of Kogane. "This right here is one of the greatest navigators in the world." Legs continued the conversation just as casually, almost as if she was used to having to grab Blaise's attention. "Though, she can introduce herself better than I can." Blaise was used to Legs grabbing her when she needed. Picking her up or carrying her around were common gestures because of the navigator's own lack of attention span. She had even been used as a human projectile on more than one occasion. Suffocating heat radiated off her body, dimples forming on her sun-kissed cheeks as she smiled broadly. Blaise refrained from sticking her hand out as she introduced herself, "Enya Blaise, tracker, navigator and mapmaker. I like guns, fire, adventure, good food, and good booze. You've got a pretty sweet city here!" Showcasing her infinite charisma and social grace Kogane heard the warm greeting with a simple greeting as she craned her neck to look up at the person in front of her. "Hello, you're tall." Looking down to eye level before looking back up at the much larger woman, "Your name also makes sense." Legs frankly dwarfed her, with Kogane barely coming up to her knee, and her navigator was also taller, though not by much. But that wasn't surprising, Kogane was used to being the shortest person in the room, at five foot four it was a reality of life. "It's nice to meet you too." Kogane gave a small bow. She then turned to the much more reasonably sized navigator. "Hello, I like food too. Thank you about the city, I built it myself. But we should probably not talk much in the open. Many people visit here, from everywhere." She said with a small nod. "If you will follow me, I will take you to my home." Her house also doubled as the seat of her government on this island, so it was where she took all of her official business visitors. As she started walking, all was normal until she hit the city itself. Kogane understood the concept of pre-planned pathways, having meticulously designed this entire city's layout. But she didn't use them herself. Normally to minimize disruption to the area, she'd simply walk through the walls of the buildings and ignore whatever was going on inside. people near her house were used to this, and just ignored it. But her visitors couldn't phase through the metal like she could, meaning she'd have to make a path. So the city began to move. Buildings were raised and moved aside, rotated and generally relocated. It was like the entire city was coming apart as she passed, before closing back up to normalcy behind the group. Kogane was lord and master of her island for good reason. Not many could hope to challenge her when the entire country was at her whim and command. “I must admit, this is quite the impressive layout you have here,” Legs genuinely complimenting, failing to hide any interest she had in the construction of the city. Because her eyes were monochromatic, lacking pupils by affiliation, it was often difficult to discern which direction Legs was looking. Sometimes it helped in battle, other times, it made her seem snobby, and inattentive. Regardless, Legs was constantly surveying the world around her, and this town was truly no different. “Why can’t you make our navigation easier by turning over buildings and moving them out of my way, Blaise?” Legs teased, using her humor to include her navigator into the conversation. "Hm?" Blaise said, snapping her head back to Legs, "What'd you say?" She had been too busy surveying the area around them, watching every change in the environment in awe, studying it with careful eyes. As usual her fingers were making quite the racket as she absentmindedly drummed them against her holsters. Though more than that, she was itching to draw the city. Though she doubted it would do her any good with the everconstant changes going on. "Thanks, it took me like 2 months to get the city built how I wanted it to look." Kogane says as she raised the ground beneath them, creating a metal platform that would raise above the the surrounding buildings. This allowed the group to see the layout of the city. It also reduced the disruption in the city below. She started pointing out various places. "We just passed over the warehouses, and up there is a residential area. If you go over to the wall towards the New World, there is a large section where a lot of the black market trading on. Other side towards Paradise is a red light district, though I really don't ever go there. Then there is the steelworks beneath the city, but outsiders don't go there often. It's where most of the locals who aren't employed in the service industry for the sailors and visitors work. Even without me making more metal we're one of the largest suppliers of metal goods in the world." She said to explain the layout of this part of the city, with the other side of the river being mostly the same. Kogane was relatively proud of her achievements, even if she didn't point out the more secret areas of her island, such as R&D and the things like that. "What is Wano like, I've never been there?" She continued with a question, for the most part ignoring the navigator unless she said something. “Similar to yourself, I specialize in the art of craft. Wano is a highly advanced civilization, as are all my territories. Blessed with the gloves of Hephaestus himself, our shipwrights and forgers are the most skilled in the world. The delivery men have socks belonging to Hermes, and have packages delivered within hours of being requested. I could go on and on, but I’m sure you get the message,” Legs spoke, making sure to at least glance at the various venues that Kogane pointed out. She made a note to return later. “One day, you’ll really have to come and visit me at my home country. It’s truly a marvelous place. It is modeled after my own mental paradise afterall.” "I believe you that your artisans are pretty good, but I would question that you have any metalworkers who are better in their craft than me. I am made of the stuff, you know" Kogane responded as she looked up at the much larger woman with a gold and silver smile, having partially transformed into her metal for to make teeth of precious metals. While many would hesitate to challenge a Yonko on anything, Kogane wasn't particularly afraid of the woman beside her. She just honestly couldn't believe there were any who were a more true master of metal than she was. She stopped for a moment as she held her hand out to the side, palm opened to the woman behind here. A hole opened in the floor, around two feet in diameter. After about ten seconds, a whistling noise could be heard from below as a great black sword, easily three times as large as Kogane rose from the depths below. Most would call it a Zweihander, though it was far thicker than normal, easily matching the Meito Yoru from edge to edge. Though that being said, it was based off the more famous blade, in her mind being equal in quality to the Black Blade. Kogane was one of the few people in the world capable of forging Saijo O Wazamono swords. Each required Haki of the highest caliber, materials of the highest quality, and a craftsman of the highest order. Kogane had all three of those in spades. The edges of the blade was made of a material she referred to as Toughirite, the single strongest material she had ever created. While brittle, it was amazingly hard and nigh indestructible when used properly. The center was made of a material she named Durallex. While nowhere near as hard as Toughirite, it was an incredibly durable metal, capable of taking repeated powerful blows without deforming, making it the perfect central material for a sword, which was generally made of a softer metal than the cutting edge. The weapon itself was sized for a person of Leg's height, as Kogane had planned it as a gift for the woman from the beginning. It was only proper for a visitor of her standing, least her advisers had said so repeatedly. The weapon floated past her hand, ending up at Leg's chest height. Kogane then said, "Maybe I will come visit Wano sometime, though I can't leave this place for too long without the marines attempting to take it. They don't learn... But in the mean time, what do you think?" Legs let the sword graciously fall into the palms of her hands, her hard exoskeleton caressing the very edges of the blade. “Holy crap. This…it’s beautiful, Kogane.” She tilted it, inspecting every corner, every piece of metal that had gone into forging this spectacular sword. Each ingot was woven personally by Kogane; Legs could feel the full brute of her will held within the blade. “Well yeah. Shit. I-I don’t even know what to say about this. It’s actually the best damn sword I think I’ve ever held in my entire life,” Legs genuinely informed. She didn’t mean her statement as a compliment in all honesty. There was a truth in her words. It was the best sword she had ever held, and it was hers. For a Wano Country citizen, their sword was their worth. As their leader, Legs held one of the best blades into the entire world before, but now, she had finally acquired a sword worthy of her power, fame, fortune, and might. “You’ll have to make a trip to Wano now I’m afraid,” Legs chuckled, “I won’t take no for an answer. I’ll just have to call upon a few favors to make sure this place stays well defended in your absence.” "Hmmm...." Kogane responded while deeply thinking as she continued walking, the buildings still moving around her. "Sure, sounds like fun. Should probably take my ship though. It's faster than the marine's." She proceeded to look up and down Legs again, before adding. "Probably gonna have to make it taller though. I'll work on it later." With that statement, the trio would find themselves to have finally reached their destination, a large steel building set into the cliff face. It was around three stories tall, but each story was easily a quarter mile wide and who knows how deep. The front was decorated with numerous woven rugs to reduce the noise of the city. While most buildings had this feature, few had as many as Kohane's residence, the steel underneath being invisible to the naked eye. "We're here, welcome to my home." She said, feeling a bit proud to show it off. "It's truly spectacular what you have achieved here," Legs complimented, "It's such a shame that I could never acquire a shipwright as fine as you. What we could have done together, what we could've created; with your skills, and my enchantments." Legs shook her head side to side. "Such a shame, really. However, regardless, that does not take away from how incredible this place is. It's simply amazing, and oh so beautiful." She folded her arms behind her back. "So, of what story will we be conducting our business on?" "The first, I don't usually have people visit the second." Kogane said before looking up again at the woman who was tall enough that Kogane only came up to her knees. "Plus, I'm not sure you'd fit." She continued, before taking a pause. "I've already rearranged the building to allow you to stand up straight on the first floor. So there are no worries there. Do you usually have trouble entering places?" Kogane finished in a questioning tone of voice. "Naturally," Legs responded quickly. "So sometimes I lift the ceilings up to my liking. Glad to see you're prepared though; I don't think I could lift that metal palace honestly." She took a step towards it. "Should we hurry? I don't want to hold up anymore of your time." "Aren't you the Empress here?" Kogane responded with a small grin. "Even I am not so arrogant as to presume my schedule is more important than yours. Though I suppose you're used to hearing that." She paused for a moment before shrugging. "I already set aside the day for this meeting, so unless you're in a hurry I see no reason to be." Legs nodded. “No, I’m in no hurry at all.” It was true. But even if she were, Legs wouldn’t be now. Despite her claim as Queen of Wano, and a Yonko, she was rarely ever treated with the amount of respect that Kogane had offered her. From her allies, there was always this façade of kindness and sincerity because she was more of a resource. Legs could offer many different people many different things. Even the Cipher Pol were aware of that, and often would come directly to Wano to purchase vast amounts of seastone. They had been doing it for generations. Still, Kogane and Legs were making a business proposition, but there was something noticeably different. Kogane welcomed her, genuinely. She seemed to enjoy speaking to Legs, but more importantly, now, Legs did not seem to think Kogane thought of her as solely a resource, but as another Queen. “Please, let’s take our time then. I’d love to see more of your land.” "I can give you the full tour if you want, though I'm afraid there will be some parts that you may have to duck for. This city wasn't built with someone of your height in mind." Kogane responded politely. "And not all of it is metal despite my best efforts." Kogane wasn't entirely sure what was going on in the larger woman's head, but she always felt pride in her accomplishment that was this city. And like she said, her schedule was cleared for this most important of guests, might as well make the most of it. "Oh, of course. That's no problem," Legs quickly replied. "When I became Empress, the castles and streets of Wano were remodelled just for me. I understand that my size can be an inconvenience, but don't allow it to bother you too much." Legs smiled. "I'm an agile kunoichi after all." The Art of the Deal Kogane and Legs had spent most of the afternoon walking around the city, most of the populace keeping their distance from the two. As much as Kogane would have preferred to give her a more authentic experience in the city, asking the citizenry to ignore the presence of a Yonko in their midst was just unlikely at best. After an early feast, the pair of them retreated to an amphitheatre that Kogane converted to a meeting room for this exact meeting. Though unlike most rooms the larger end was the observation level and the top of the stairs was the desk. It had taken some work for Kogane to appropriate a couch that the larger woman could sit in, but she had managed to get a local factory to take a most unusual order and rush it through on short notice. Her own desk had simply been moved from her normal office to the deck it sat on for this exact purpose. "No then, I suppose we should get down to business," the Magnate stated as she looked at a version of the proposed deal. Ten radioactive devices, each capable of exploding as weapons of barely matched destruction, in exchange for several pieces of technology that Kogane didn't have yet. A ledge opened up from the wall beneath the deck that allowed the two women to be at eye level, revealing ten large cases, each marked with appropriate symbols of danger. "For simplicity sake, I don't have them encased in their full shells yet, but they'll be fully ready to use by the time they reach the ship, I can assure you of that. Now then, may I see what you brought me?" Legs smiled as she glanced over at Kogane’s goods, snapping her fingers immediately as people behind her carried with them enormous boxes of what could only be merchandise. “The Black Widow Empire love trade, especially with other self sufficient empires who do not depend on the World Government. What you have given me is something that I’ll be able to use to rule the seas, and to protect myself from Kurama and his goons. So, what I want to give is are things that I think you can implement across your own empire.” She scooped one of the crates onto her finger, carefully squeezing the top open, revealing almost tons of seastone and various lasers. “I have brought you seastone to line the bottom of your ships, secure your gates, whatever you really desire. The same could be said for these lasers. Mathison Fischer created them. They are some of the highest grade lasers in the world.” Legs allowed the crate to fall onto the floor in front of her. “I have brought you two hundred creates of this merchandise, not only in exchange for what you have given me, but in hopes of securing future deals with your empire, Kogane. We are a empire of many resources, due to the richness of Wano, but what we lack compared to your empire is the ability to gather precious, and rare metals. We would love to set up some kind of deal where we exchange resources.” "That should be more than sufficient. It's always nice working with a partner who plans ahead." Kogane smiled as she studied the crates. "I think we can work out a deal that will benefit both sides. Let's get started." The two women spent most of the evening in the boardroom hammering out a deal between the two kingdoms, one which was signed before they retired for the night. It was the beginning of a fruitful, and friendly relationship that would last for years to come. Category:Role-Plays Category:Finished Role-Plays